VASI Posted April 6, 2022 Report Share Posted April 6, 2022 Sound Devices has been rolled out a new firmware update for A10/A20 Wireless REEDSBURG, WISC., APRIL 6, 2022 – Sound Devices is proud to introduce a new modulation type for their wireless products as part of version 5.00 firmware for the A10-TX, A10-RX, A20-Mini, and companion app A20-Remote. “We’ve been very pleased with the performance of the new long-range modulation in our field testing,” said Gary Trenda, RF Applications Engineer at Sound Devices. “We’re seeing significant improvements to audio range in all RF environments.” The new firmware also introduces a quality meter or Q-meter. Previously, the A10/A20 system only offered an RSSI meter, which only displays information on incoming signal strength. The long-range modulation and Q-meter join a growing list of state-of-the-art features in the A10/A20 Digital Wireless System More about Quality Meter can been found here: https://www.sounddevices.com/quality-meter/ New firmware can be downloaded from here: https://www.sounddevices.com/download/ LINK to Sound Devices promotional video Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattias Larsen Posted April 7, 2022 Report Share Posted April 7, 2022 13 hours ago, VASI said: This new long-range modulation is 100% digital and offers the longest transmission distance of any wireless system on the market. That's a very bold claim, amazing if true. Would love to see comparison with Shure with backup frequency, Wisy in narrowband and Lectro with Vector diversity to see how it holds up. Great regardless, seems from the user reports that the digital AL system was struggling a bit with range, especially in the beginning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VASI Posted April 7, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2022 5 hours ago, Mattias Larsen said: That's a very bold claim, amazing if true. From their website about this: ¹ When comparing systems with same transmit power, same antennas, and same transmission frequency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattias Larsen Posted April 7, 2022 Report Share Posted April 7, 2022 23 minutes ago, VASI said: From their website about this: ¹ When comparing systems with same transmit power, same antennas, and same transmission frequency. Okey, still bold claim! Doesn't the shure have technology to use 4 recieverboards for when they do 2mw or something? Shure seemed to do very well compared to old Lectro and Zax from the test Jim Keaney posted on YouTube. And the walktests on 50mw Wisys from Raycom was quite something. I am so happy that all the brands are pushing the boundaries on what seems to be possible, and I am happy for everybody if these claims are close to be true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VASI Posted April 8, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2022 20 hours ago, Mattias Larsen said: Okey, still bold claim! Doesn't the shure have technology to use 4 recieverboards for when they do 2mw or something? Shure seemed to do very well compared to old Lectro and Zax from the test Jim Keaney posted on YouTube. And the walktests on 50mw Wisys from Raycom was quite something. I am so happy that all the brands are pushing the boundaries on what seems to be possible, and I am happy for everybody if these claims are close to be true. I am pretty sure they working for an A20 Receiver, since A10 is a little old IMHO. Q-Meter is very welcome addition and really helpful. What I can't find is, what about the "additional latency" in long-range modulation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattias Larsen Posted April 8, 2022 Report Share Posted April 8, 2022 1 hour ago, VASI said: I am pretty sure they working for an A20 Receiver, since A10 is a little old IMHO. Q-Meter is very welcome addition and really helpful. What I can't find is, what about the "additional latency" in long-range modulation. 3.9ms According to someone on FB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VASI Posted April 9, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2022 21 hours ago, Mattias Larsen said: 3.9ms According to someone on FB Not bad! Looking forward to hear more feedback from field about these two new features Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dejan Ceko Posted April 9, 2022 Report Share Posted April 9, 2022 22 hours ago, Mattias Larsen said: 3.9ms According to someone on FB Someone from sound devices should jump in and clarify this...3.9ms is a way too much / standard mode is 2ms EndToEnd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich Posted April 9, 2022 Report Share Posted April 9, 2022 why is it way too much? zaxcom and lectrosonics have similar latency, and i havent seen any complaints about their delay times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trey LaCroix Posted April 9, 2022 Report Share Posted April 9, 2022 1 hour ago, rich said: why is it way too much? zaxcom and lectrosonics have similar latency, and i havent seen any complaints about their delay times. Agreed. The 3.2 from my lectros and 6.6 from my zax have never been a problem for post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich Posted April 9, 2022 Report Share Posted April 9, 2022 indeed, and if you are using the same radio mic system for all your incoming channels, then it makes no difference as nothing is offset. and most top end recorders have input delay to compensate for this kind of thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dejan Ceko Posted April 9, 2022 Report Share Posted April 9, 2022 What I meant is - almost double time vs. standard mode on the same system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich Posted April 9, 2022 Report Share Posted April 9, 2022 right. and? why is that way too much? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VASI Posted April 9, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2022 I don't think anyone will notice a difference between 2ms vs 4ms. It's in inside acceptable window for a digital wireless system IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbuerjes Posted April 10, 2022 Report Share Posted April 10, 2022 I have seen the link to the new FW and I have seen the video. As an early adopter of the A10-system I went through very mixed results with the range of the system. I find the video not convincing, because there is nothing in it, that could not be achieved with well coordinated frequencies after a scan. I don't understand, if and how the range will be improved - or if the quality meter simply warns about the poor range. If the range can be improved with the new FW, I'd like to see a walking test that compares v5.00 with the current v 4.02.00. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrimic Posted April 10, 2022 Report Share Posted April 10, 2022 I haven't done any scientific or rigorous comparative testing yet, but after Friday's update, my initial experiences show an improvement in range. I did a quick walk test with a Wisy and an A20 mini, both on whips, and the outdoor range seems comparable (40mw for the A20, 50 mW for the Wisy) . I'm waiting to have more real world experiences to say it's better, but for now, everything seems fine..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VASI Posted April 11, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2022 18 hours ago, henrimic said: I haven't done any scientific or rigorous comparative testing yet, but after Friday's update, my initial experiences show an improvement in range. I did a quick walk test with a Wisy and an A20 mini, both on whips, and the outdoor range seems comparable (40mw for the A20, 50 mW for the Wisy) . I'm waiting to have more real world experiences to say it's better, but for now, everything seems fine..... Nice! Waiting to hear more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VASI Posted April 11, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2022 On 4/10/2022 at 11:43 AM, jbuerjes said: I have seen the link to the new FW and I have seen the video. As an early adopter of the A10-system I went through very mixed results with the range of the system. I find the video not convincing, because there is nothing in it, that could not be achieved with well coordinated frequencies after a scan. I don't understand, if and how the range will be improved - or if the quality meter simply warns about the poor range. If the range can be improved with the new FW, I'd like to see a walking test that compares v5.00 with the current v 4.02.00. Definitely, Sound Devices need a better and up-to-date receiver. It has been around 5 years since Audio Limited introduced A10. The video shows about Q-meter, not about "walk-test", but will interesting to see one with transmitter in belt and body act as barrier. As always, every system has their own "sweet-spot" (like microphones). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbuerjes Posted April 11, 2022 Report Share Posted April 11, 2022 22 hours ago, henrimic said: I haven't done any scientific or rigorous comparative testing yet, but after Friday's update, my initial experiences show an improvement in range. I did a quick walk test with a Wisy and an A20 mini, both on whips, and the outdoor range seems comparable (40mw for the A20, 50 mW for the Wisy) . I'm waiting to have more real world experiences to say it's better, but for now, everything seems fine..... This is good to hear! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VASI Posted June 8, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2022 A10-TX & A10-RX firmware v5.10 is now available! Version 5.10 includes a new option for a shorter Q-meter and performance enhancements. https://www.sounddevices.com/download/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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